


Feds Do Even Worse

by ChokolatteJedi



Series: In Prison Verse [3]
Category: White Collar
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Prison, Season/Series 05
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-03
Updated: 2015-06-03
Packaged: 2018-04-13 00:24:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4500663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChokolatteJedi/pseuds/ChokolatteJedi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neal worries about Peter in prison</p>
            </blockquote>





	Feds Do Even Worse

Despite the odds against it, Neal had done fairly well in prison. He had used his skills to become the indispensable right hand man of a convict kingpin during his first stint. During his second and third, less auspicious, visits he had huddled behind the imposing doors of Solitary Confinement, plotting escape plans and hoping that Peter would get him back out before someone came a-knocking.

And Peter had done so both times.

So while it hadn't been the best experience, Neal had survived.

Peter, on the other hand… Peter was worse than a rat. He was a Fed. And Solitary Confinement or not, Feds never lasted long in prison.

Neal knew this, though he had blithely assured El that the guards would protect Peter and that none of the other convicts would be able to get to him. She had smiled tearfully at him and accepted the reassurance.

So of course Neal couldn't mention the possibility of crossing paths with another convict during his weekly trip to the shower. Or the possibility of Peter ending up vulnerable in the infirmary. A guard deciding to take down the dirty cop a peg or two. A dirty guard taking a bribe to let a convict do the same…

The scenarios looped through his mind, and the list of ways for Peter to get hurt despite being in the protected AdSeg section seemed endless.

oOo

When he was tired, his brain supplied the image of Peter in the infirmary, beaten black and blue. And Neal would chug a cup of coffee and get back to work.

When he started to fall asleep in his chair, sometime before his chin slipped off his hand and hit his keyboard, Neal would dream of Peter lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood, a homemade ship sticking out of his gut. That was when Neal knew the coffee had stopped working. He'd pop an Ambien, pass out for a few hours, and then wake up and get back to work.

And then, finally, the day came. Neal wasn't allowed to get Peter from the prison – wasn't even allowed to ride along in El's car – but he had been permitted to wait at the Burke residence, provided that Diana was there to watch him. Jones drove, sparing El from having to fight her nerves and the horrible traffic.

Before he left, the agent had shared a look with Neal, and Neal knew that Jones knew the risks. If Peter had been hurt, he would protect El from that knowledge. Jones would shield her the way Neal wished he could.

oOo

When the he and Diana heard the car pull up to Casa Burke late that night, Neal found himself prepared for the worst. He and Diana rose to greet Peter, but it was Clinton who came through first. He had a small smile on his face, but his eyes were hooded.

Neal knew it was a bad sign. Not a horrible sign, because there was that smile, but not a good sign. El came next, smiling widely, tears glistening in her eyes, and that was alright. That was the way she should look right now.

And finally, there was Peter. At first glance he looked pretty healthy. Thin, a fading black eye, tired, but healthy. But in his eyes, during the brief moment when he allowed his gaze to meet Neal's, in his eyes Neal saw the truth.

Something had happened.

Neal didn't know what, though his mind instantly began running scenarios, but something had happened to Peter.

He wasn't dead, thank goodness, but he wasn't the same man who had walked into jail all those weeks ago. Neal hadn't done well in prison, but as Peter had unfortunately learned the hard way, Feds did even worse.


End file.
